How's NIER, anyway? Looks interesting to me, and I've heard some people say it plays really poorly, but the reviews here made it sound like it plays fine, it's just nothing particularly original or mindblowing?

Did I mention that I made a Japanese XBox Live account for the hell of it, and got the name BearishPilot69 assigned to me? Yeeeeah.

NieR is a tough sell, B-grade, hidden gem.

The Good:= Probably one of the BEST videogame OSTs ever.= Great character. Occasionally somewhat over-the-top; but they sell the story well and even NPCs manage to tell a good story in [the many] quests.= A great younger/older story division that comes well into play on your second play through, which, by the way...= Really great replay value that makes the second run of the game cut out the fat and continue the plot in a unique way (you get more of the "enemy" POV)= Interesting gameplay and unique play styles that [blatantly] copies other popular titles (notables being Resident Evil, Diablo, Legend of Zelda, and, I guess, bullet hell titles).= A rather sweet father/daughter plot.= You know how Drakengard has this wonderfully twisted world that you never explore? Well now you can now!!

The Bad:= The gameplay itself is very loose and it feels like it could have used a lot more polish and tweaking... But it didn't, and it's repetitive and boring after a while and the quests make it worse.= Quests, quests, so many quests... A few memorable ones though, like I said above, the NPCs tell a lot.= Plot details are somewhat peculiar....i.e.; you'll want to/need to read the Grimoire NieR (fan translated online) to really get the last bite and meat of the plot. Literally, quite a bit is left out or left to speculation without it.

The Ugly:= The graphics are rather plain; character models are somewhat peculiar too... Everyone seems to have dark and thin lips for some reason...= Man-ape Nier's animations are awkward and silly looking

With all that said, however.......Anyone selling this game for PS3? I miss it.

How's NIER, anyway? Looks interesting to me, and I've heard some people say it plays really poorly, but the reviews here made it sound like it plays fine, it's just nothing particularly original or mindblowing?

Did I mention that I made a Japanese XBox Live account for the hell of it, and got the name BearishPilot69 assigned to me? Yeeeeah.

It's nothing particularly mindblowing or original, it's not a bad game by any means from a gameplay standpoint, the combat is perfectly functional and it's generally fun if a little repetitive at times, the boss fights are excellent though. However where it lacks in gameplay originality it makes up for it in using the video game medium to tell it's story. Not to mention witty dialogue, likable, nuanced characters, great story and terrific music.The RPGFan review(Kyle's) is pretty accurate imo.

People here say Nier's gameplay ain't anything special, but I would like to remind that it had quite a few things to spice it up. Sometimes the game goes 2D, sometimes to overhead view and it sometimes even transforms into a VN, with absolutely nothing but text and music.

As for my RPG progress... well, I'm doing horribly. It seems I'm involuntarily in my VN and anime watching gear. I even ordered DWG Reborn when I have Rorona Plus unfinished. Such a shameful being I am. I did however beat Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons, which I got for like 2e from the summer sales. It was totally worth it and tears were shed.

People here say Nier's gameplay ain't anything special, but I would like to remind that it had quite a few things to spice it up. Sometimes the game goes 2D, sometimes to overhead view and it sometimes even transforms into a VN, with absolutely nothing but text and music.

TBQH, that's why I never got into Nier. It tried too many things and never really excelled at any of them. Plus I hate when games don't make up their mind as to what genre they want to be. :|

How's NIER, anyway? Looks interesting to me, and I've heard some people say it plays really poorly, but the reviews here made it sound like it plays fine, it's just nothing particularly original or mindblowing

It's unique enough and interesting enough that it's definitely worth a playthrough. Then you can decide whether you want to play through again for the other endings.

People here say Nier's gameplay ain't anything special, but I would like to remind that it had quite a few things to spice it up. Sometimes the game goes 2D, sometimes to overhead view and it sometimes even transforms into a VN, with absolutely nothing but text and music.

TBQH, that's why I never got into Nier. It tried too many things and never really excelled at any of them. Plus I hate when games don't make up their mind as to what genre they want to be. :|

I think it was in the "Trolled by Cavia!" genre.

Seriously, for all the praise Drakengard 1 gets, actually playing it is an exercise in masochism. At least Nier is playable in comparison, and extra modes aside, its not too bad of a third party Ocarina of Time clone on a budget (you're just substituting the dungeon items for different gameplay styles).

I just want to say out-loud here first that I LOVE dices review format posts here in the journal.

Next I want to say I'm having a mistwalker break-down! LoL

I'm about to finish Shadow Hearts ( I think) so the next title to pluck from the shelf need be considered. I never played either Blue Dragon or Lost Odyssey and while both may be shooting myself in the foot considering Xillia is coming next month, I can't help but be pretty enticed. The alternative option to either is maybe just focusing on polishing off a few non-rpgs I've picked up and possibly (finally) giving Breath of Fire Dragon Quarter a shot. I've been waiting a long time to try a Mistwalker title though, and considering the amount of new stuff coming this fall I think it best I get to either or.

Blue Dragon seems way more tailored to my personal taste in terms of aesthetics but it seems most I've read leads me to believe Lost Odyssey is a way better experience. I know little about either. What I do know...

-I'm in the mood for a traditional epic RPG and both seem to fit the bill.- I love how bright and vibrant Blue Dragon appears to be but the fact that people say the story sucks scares me. - I'm enticed by that fact that I've read Lost Odyssey reminds them of Final Fantasy. One quote a quick search turned up within the forum here was "LO reminds me of the FF6 sequel I wanted since FF7 was announced". That is a bold and grand statement that severely pulls me in the Odyssey direction.- I know Blue Dragon has an overworld map. I like this.- I know Blue Dragon has a class system. I like this.- I know nothing else of Lost Odyssey at all.

So if anyone has any words of wisdom they care to offer, I'm all ears.

I've played three Mistwalker titles, and I was disappointed by all of them.

Blue Dragon was fine, but largely forgettable. It's hard to pick out much that was particularly good or bad about it. I felt it was just sort of "meh."

Lost Odyssey had brilliant story-telling, but the battles (and the game as a whole) is SO SLOW. It travels at a snail's pace, which I personally found pretty hard to enjoy. If you have no problems with that, then you'll likely enjoy it! I remember it being quite hard too, though I might be misremembering that.

1. Buy everything.2. Play each of it for like five hours.3. Get a cold that lasts for a month and forget everything that happened prior to it, so you don't have to feel guilty when you never play the games/call your parents again.

Also there's a bunch of yew bushes by my bus stop at work and I think yews are really terrible smelling and they bring back unpleasant memories of both being in middle school and working as a custodian at my old middle school, cause the building was SURROUNDED with the things. That was a non-sequitur.

More relevant though, Blue Dragon has the worst boss battle music in the history of anything.

Anyway, did another two missions with Franklin in GTAV. It's swung from disturbing back to charming. with a brief detour into oh my god did the Ballas become a zombie horde.

Wevz, planning on doing nothing but Vesperia tomorrow since all the stores are gonna be closed and Columbus is a ghost town on the 4th.

Logged

o/` I do not feel joy o/`o/` I do not dream o/`o/` I only stare at the door and smoke o/`

1. Buy everything.2. Play each of it for like five hours.3. Get a cold that lasts for a month and forget everything that happened prior to it, so you don't have to feel guilty when you never play the games/call your parents again.

Also there's a bunch of yew bushes by my bus stop at work and I think yews are really terrible smelling and they bring back unpleasant memories of both being in middle school and working as a custodian at my old middle school, cause the building was SURROUNDED with the things. That was a non-sequitur.

More relevant though, Blue Dragon has the worst boss battle music in the history of anything.

Anyway, did another two missions with Franklin in GTAV. It's swung from disturbing back to charming. with a brief detour into oh my god did the Ballas become a zombie horde.

Wevz, planning on doing nothing but Vesperia tomorrow since all the stores are gonna be closed and Columbus is a ghost town on the 4th.

I like your suggestions sir! Well minus the cold... I always feel like crap without being sick as is.

I've played three Mistwalker titles, and I was disappointed by all of them.

Blue Dragon was fine, but largely forgettable. It's hard to pick out much that was particularly good or bad about it. I felt it was just sort of "meh."

Lost Odyssey had brilliant story-telling, but the battles (and the game as a whole) is SO SLOW. It travels at a snail's pace, which I personally found pretty hard to enjoy. If you have no problems with that, then you'll likely enjoy it! I remember it being quite hard too, though I might be misremembering that.

Thanks for the quick response you guys! If I do choose blue dragon, what is this I hear about a difficulty patch? Should I be concerned with it? I like hard, but not frustrating-tear-your-hair-our hard.

As for Lost Odyssey being slow, I don't mind slow so long as I'm occupied. In other words, long battle animations will bore me whereas a battle that simple requires quite a few turns will hold my attention just fine. Lots of reading is great so long as the dialogue is relevant. I feel like after playing Persona 2 IS and EP back to back I have the patience for just about anything turn based in light of a good narrative.

As for Last Story, I sold off my Wii U so that is out of the question for the time being.

The alternative plan of something amidst the myriad of shorter titles I want to get to and "saving mistwalker for a rainy day" is starting to sound better after your guys responses. LoL. Something about that breath of fire dragon quarter is mighty intriguing...